| Birth name | Wilfred Anthony de Souza |
|---|---|
| Honorific suffix | GCIH |
| Office 5 | 1st Deputy Chief Minister of Goa |
| Term start 5 | 16 January 1980 |
| Term end 5 | 18 September 1983 |
| Predecessor 5 | Office established |
| Successor 5 | Ramakant Khalap |
| Term start 6 | 25 January 1991 |
| Term end 6 | 29 July 1998 |
| Predecessor 6 | Ramakant Khalap |
| Successor 6 | Dayanand Narvekar |
| Term 7 | June 2005 -7 June 2007 |
| Predecessor 7 | Filipe Nery Rodrigues |
| Successor 7 | Francis D'Souza |
| Office | 5th Chief Minister of Goa |
| Term start | 18 May 1993 |
| Term end | 2 April 1994 |
| Predecessor | Ravi Naik |
| Successor | Ravi Naik |
| Term start 1 | 8 April 1994 |
| Term end 1 | 16 December 1994 |
| Predecessor 1 | Ravi Naik |
| Successor 1 | Pratapsingh Rane |
| Term start 2 | 30 July 1998 |
| Term end 2 | 26 November 1998 |
| Predecessor 2 | Pratapsingh Rane |
| Successor 2 | Luizinho Faleiro |
| Office 8 | Member of the Goa Legislative Assembly |
| Term start 8 | 1989 |
| Term end 8 | 2007 |
| Predecessor 8 | constituency established |
| Successor 8 | Dilip Parulekar |
| Constituency 8 | Saligao |
| Term start 9 | 1980 |
| Term end 9 | 1984 |
| Predecessor 9 | Ilario Rual Fernandes |
| Successor 9 | Malik Shrikant Keshav |
| Constituency 9 | Calangute |
| Term start 10 | 1974 |
| Term end 10 | 1977 |
| Predecessor 10 | Vasudeo Narayan Sarmalkar |
| Successor 10 | Cota Lourence |
| Constituency 10 | Benaulim |
| Birth date | 23 April 1927 |
| Birth place | Vagator, Goa, Portuguese India |
| Death date | 4 September 2015 (aged 88) |
| Death place | Dona Paula, Goa, India |
| Party | Trinamool Congress (2012–2015) |
| Other party |
|
| Spouse | Grace de Souza (m. 1962) |
| Relations | Romuald D'Souza (brother) |
| Occupation | Politician · surgeon |
Wilfred Anthony de Souza GCIH (23 April 1927 – 4 September 2015) was an Indian surgeon and politician who served as the fifth Chief Minister of Goa, holding the office thrice between 1993 and 1998.[2] He also served as first Deputy Chief Minister of Goa in different occasions from 1980 to 2007, and held the position a total of four times. He was a member of the Indian National Congress and the Goa Rajiv Congress Party, during his third tenure.
Early life and education
Wilfred Anthony de Souza was born in Vagator, Portuguese Goa on 23 April 1927, to Dr. Tito Fermino de Souza and Alina Ana Maria de Souza, of Goan Catholic origin from Anjuna, Goa.[3] Jesuit priest Romuald D'Souza was his brother.[4]
De Souza completed his MB BS from Bombay University. He was a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, England and Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh. As well as an Honorary Fellow of the International College of Surgeons and also Fellow of the Association of Surgeons of India.[5]
Political career
De Souza is credited, together with allies such as Govind Panvelcar, with the first Congress Party victory in Goa in 1980. From 1963 until 1979, Goan politics had been dominated by the regional parties, particularly the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP).[6]
In July 1998, De Souza formed the Goa Rajiv Congress Party as a splinter group of the Indian National Congress (INC). He was sworn in as Chief Minister of Goa for the third time on 30 July 1998 and remained in the post until 26 November 1998.
In 1999, De Souza joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and was its Goa president from 1999 to June 2009. During this period he was Deputy Chief Minister of Goa in a coalition government with the INC from February 2005 to June 2007. He failed to retain his seat in the 2007 assembly election.
After he left the party, Gurunath Kulkarni, national general secretary of the Nationalist Congress Party accused him of impeding the party's growth in Goa.[7]
In 2007, he was appointed the Deputy Chairperson of the State Planning Board.
For the 2012 assembly election he was a member of the All India Trinamool Congress as head of the Goa branch of the party. During the election, he criticised the INC for corruption.[8]
Personal life
In April 1962, de Souza married British social worker Grace de Souza (née Goodwin), whom he had met during his time in England, UK. The couple had two daughters Joanne and Suzie.[3]
Death
De Souza died on 4 September 2015 at Dona Paula, Goa, after a brief illness and prior to that, he was admitted in Manipal Hospital.[9]
Awards and achievements
- Commander, Grand Cross of the Order of Dom Infante Henriques – from the Government of Portugal at the hands of the President of Portugal, H.E.Mario Soares;
- Dr. B. C. Roy Award – as "Eminent Medical Man & Statesman" from the Medical Council of India at the hands of the President of India, H.E. Shri K.R. Narayanan;
- The Silver Elephant Award – for services to Scouts & Guides by the President of India;
- Sons of India – award from the society for Advanced Studies in Medical Sciences at the hands of Swami Brijendramandji, Head Ramkrishna Mission;
- Jawaharlal Nehru Excellence Award – given by Institute of Economic Studies, New Delhi;
- Indira Gandhi Solidarity Award – given by Indian Solidarity Council, New Delhi; Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award, 1992;
- International Gold Star Award – by Industrial Economic Forum, New Delhi; Super Achievers of India Award by Front for National Progress;
- Glory of India International Award – by International Friendship Association of India;
- Gold Award – by Shiromani Institute;
In addition, he has worked in several hospitals in the UK 1957–1963; Consultant surgeon to Goa Medical College Panjim; Asilo Hospital Mapuca; Hospicio Hospital Margao; Holy Cross Hospital, Mapuca; C.M.M. Memorial Hospital, Panjim. .[5]
References
- ^ "Timeline". 5 September 2015.
- ^ Vaz, J. Clement (1997). Profiles of eminent Goans, past and present. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 165–166. ISBN 978-81-7022-619-2.
- ^ "De Souza, Wilfred Anthony (1927 - 2015)". livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-03-22.
- ^ "Fr Romuald D'Souza passes away at 94". The Times of India. 2019-11-01. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ^ "Know your MLA... – Recent Discussion". Osdir.com. Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
- ^ Mehra, Ajay. K & Schmdit, Laris Peter. "Regional/State Parties in India". Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
- ^ "De Souza blamed for impeding NCP's growth". The Times of India. 9 July 2009. Archived 30 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
- ^ "Trinamool Cong offers Willy state chief's post". The Times of India. 3 January 2013. Archived 30 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Former Goa Chief Minister Wilfred De Souza passes away" (in en-IN). The Hindu. 2015-09-04. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2026-01-23.